Sullivan Warns Iran of ‘Severe Consequences’ if it Attacks American Citizens

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan speaks during a press briefing at the White House, Monday, July 11, 2022, in Washington. (AP)
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan speaks during a press briefing at the White House, Monday, July 11, 2022, in Washington. (AP)
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Sullivan Warns Iran of ‘Severe Consequences’ if it Attacks American Citizens

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan speaks during a press briefing at the White House, Monday, July 11, 2022, in Washington. (AP)
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan speaks during a press briefing at the White House, Monday, July 11, 2022, in Washington. (AP)

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan warned Iran on Wednesday that the Biden Administration “will not waiver in protecting and defending all Americans against threats of violence and terrorism.”

“Should Iran attack any of our citizens, to include those who continue to serve the United States or those who formerly served, Iran will face severe consequences,” he added in a statement released by the White House.

“We will continue to bring to bear the full resources of the US Government to protect Americans,” he vowed.

The United States charged a member of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps on Wednesday with plotting to murder John Bolton, a national security adviser to former President Donald Trump.

The Justice Department alleged that Shahram Poursafi, also known as Mehdi Rezayi, 45, of Tehran, was likely motivated to kill Bolton in retaliation for the death of Qassem Soleimani, a commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps killed in a US drone strike in January 2020.

Poursafi was also prepared to pay $1 million for a second “job,” the department said.

Trump-era Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was the second target, according to Morgan Ortagus, who served as State Department spokesperson during his tenure.

Iran does not have an extradition treaty with the United States, and Poursafi remains at large. The FBI on Wednesday released a most-wanted poster.

Tehran condemned the US move.

“Iran strongly warns against any action against Iranian citizens under the pretext of these ridiculous and baseless accusations,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said.

It was not clear how the Revolutionary Guard - a powerful political faction in Iran which controls a business empire as well as elite armed and intelligence forces that Washington accuses of a global terrorist campaign - might react to the charges.

According to the criminal complaint, Poursafi asked a US resident identified only as “Individual A” to photograph Bolton, under the guise that the photos were needed for a forthcoming book. The US resident then introduced Poursafi to a covert government informant who could take the photographs for a price.

Investigators said the following month Poursafi contacted the informant on an encrypted messaging application and offered the person $250,000 to hire someone to “eliminate” Bolton - an amount that would later be negotiated up to $300,000.

When the informant asked Poursafi to be more specific in his request, he said he wanted “the guy” purged and provided Bolton's first and last name, according to a sworn statement in support of the complaint.

He later directed the informant to open a cryptocurrency account to facilitate the payment.

In subsequent communications, he allegedly told the informant it did not matter how the killing was carried out, but that his “group” would require a video as proof that the deed was done.

Multiple current and former US officials have extra security due to Iranian threats, CNN reported.

“I think it's quite correct to say many other Americans are in the targets of this regime,” Bolton told the network. “It tells you what the regime is. It tells you about its character.”



Erdogan Accuses Top Turkish Business Group of Political Meddling

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan delivers a statement during the United Nations climate change conference COP29, in Baku, Azerbaijan November 12, 2024. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan delivers a statement during the United Nations climate change conference COP29, in Baku, Azerbaijan November 12, 2024. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo
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Erdogan Accuses Top Turkish Business Group of Political Meddling

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan delivers a statement during the United Nations climate change conference COP29, in Baku, Azerbaijan November 12, 2024. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan delivers a statement during the United Nations climate change conference COP29, in Baku, Azerbaijan November 12, 2024. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo

President Tayyip Erdogan accused Türkiye's top business association, TUSIAD, of meddling in politics and undermining the government on Wednesday, piling pressure on a group already being investigated over an executive's remarks on democracy. Speaking to his ruling AK Party in the parliament, Erdogan said TUSIAD had "overstepped" and he dismissed it as a remnant of the past that had thrived on economic privilege and political influence.

"TUSIAD's mentality is a symbol of weak governments in Türkiye's past (and it is) full of businessmen who have grown under the shadow of unfair profits and privileges at the expense of the nation," he said.

"They once dictated politics through newspaper headlines. We put an end to that. We did not recognize any power above the will of the people," he said, accusing the group of fueling political instability and attempting to pressure the government. TUSIAD executive Omer Aras, who is the chairman of QNB's Turkish banking unit, last week criticized a government crackdown on dissenting figures, saying the probes into opposition leaders and journalists had shaken trust and damaged democracy. In response, a prosecutor's office opened an investigation into his remarks, prompting a drop in Istanbul-listed stocks. On Wednesday, Istanbul's prosecutors' office expanded the probe to include TUSIAD President Orhan Turhan, citing his statements at the group's general assembly as "misleading and disruptive to public order."

A statement on Wednesday from the Istanbul prosecutor's office said Aras and Turhan were under investigation for "attempting to influence a fair trial" and "publicly spreading misleading information," and that authorities had ordered them to appear for questioning. TUSIAD, whose members account for 85% of Türkiye's foreign trade and 80% of the country's corporate tax revenue, said on Tuesday it was working for national interests.

It did not address the investigation into Aras directly and did not immediately comment on Erdogan's remarks.

Erdogan said his government has raised per-capita income, built roads and spread prosperity since coming to power more than two decades ago. "As long as we are in power, no one will bring back the old system where a handful of elites siphoned off state resources," he said.

Opposition lawmakers have faced a wave of arrests, detentions and probes in the last few months that critics say aim to silence dissent and weaken Erdogan's rivals' electoral prospects. The government dismisses this accusation and says the judiciary is independent.